Review #6: High There

High There is a nonfiction comedy created by Wayne Darwen and Henry Goren. Film following Darwen in the guise of journalist-producer who heads to Hawaii to film a marijuana travel series, only to become lost in a fog of drugs, sex and paranoia as he uncovers a government plot to control the marijuana trade.

They arrived on island at a time when the federal Drug Enforcement Agency was conducting raids. Because of that coincidental timing, locals initially suspected filmmakers of being undercover agents. That’s way local people didn’twant to share their names, so they called each other “E girl,” “Surfer Dave,” and “Alien Tom”. This adventure turned into the most unreal experiences of a lifetime for Wayne Darwen and videographer Henry Goren, when they found themselves transformed into their alter egos Dave High and Roland Jointz in an accidental immersive investigation of the marijuana wars on the island of Hawaii. In addition to the original problem, we can also take a closer look at two completely different personalities. Wayne is kind of wild type, drinking alcohol and smoking pot all the time, while Henry is quiet and somewhat opposite to lifestyle which his co-worker presents. The film shows that, despite the differences, you can reach an agreement with one another and create interesting projects.

The movie is filmed in the form of a documentary, characters that are appearing are turns directly to the viewer. This film is something like a video diary. It’s not typical documentary, it’s more like a dark comedy. I could even take a risk and say that this is Woody Allen on drugs. I think it’s because of strong humor which was used in this project. It’s very original to presents that kind of movie in such a way.

This is possibly one of the most interesting documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s a perfect example of a memorable and really good piece of filmed cinema. The reality which you can see, the characters, the humor, those elements create new way of documentary..

Noteworthy is also music, which is very relaxing and fits fantastic to scenes. Music accompanies us almost all the time, sometimes it’s a light music and sometimes more powerful guitar sound.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see something different, a new point of view for documentary films. For sure it’s not a movie for everyone, not everyone will like it, for example: the humor or how this movie was made but I think that it’s a project which really deserves attention.

BRINKvision releases the film on VOD and Limited Edition DVD June 23rd!